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Friday, September 28, 2012

Hornish Still Without Contract For 2013

Sam Hornish, Jr.

Despite repeated assertions
by Penske Racing owner Roger Penske that he wants Sam Hornish, Jr., back in a
full time NASCAR Nationwide Series ride next season, the former Indianapolis
500 champion says he has no signed contract in place for 2013.

“I don’t have any paper in
my hand saying what’s going to happen next year,” said Hornish. “I know Roger’s
been out there (in the media) saying he’d like to have me back, but we’ll just
have to wait and see how everything plays out. We’ve got some really good sponsors and we’re
moving forward on some other ones, but it’s a really tough time with the
economy.

“A lot of people are waiting
around to see what’s going to happen with the election,” he revealed. “That
will impact how the economy goes, and it’s funny how big a role politics plays
in our racing world. When you’re talking about the kind of money it takes to
run a full Nationwide or Sprint Cup schedule, there are a lot of things
involved.

Hornish said that
uncertainty, combined with Penske’s recent decision to sign Joey Logano to
drive the team’s No. 22 Shell Pennzoil-sponsored Sprint Cup Series Ford next
season, has made for a difficult few weeks.

“It’s obviously been tough,
with all the things that have happened,” he said. “But I try to remain as loyal
as I can to Penske Racing. I know they’ve done a lot for me, and I love this
organization. I hope we can move forward together, but I can’t feel too happy
until I know for sure what’s going to happen next year. It’s just a tough time right now.

He said his primarily goal
is to end the 2012 season on a high note, win races and continue to contend for
the Nationwide Series championship.

“My goal at the start of the
start of the season was to finish in the Top-3 in Nationwide points,” he said. “We’re
fourth right now – 46 out of the lead – and it’s not too late to make a run. We
just need to find another five percent in performance.

“We’re going to do the best
we can to cap off this season on a high note with both (Nationwide and Sprint
Cup) cars, then see what the future holds for us.”

Why would you want to drive for an owner who says he stands behind you, but doesn't. He hasn't offered a contract, signs another driver and tells another driver (Almendinger) that he is released, but he should know how short of time his suspension would be.

I can see where sam is coming from. Penske signed Helio and Powers to contracts but told Briscoe that even though penske wants to sign him he is free to look for other rides on the indy side because sponsorship is still being worked on. Remember this sport is not a $1.98 to run. My feeling is that Sam is in the same boat. It all depends on sponsorship and I like to use the carl edwards sponsorship for aflac it was what 70 million for a couple yrs. Even if you say it was 75 million for 3 yrs your looking at a 25 million per yr and that breaks down to what 2 million per month. So lets say to run the whole season with a top tier team on the nationwide side costs oh 12 million you have to find sponsors who can cover that costs and that is just for 1 yr. I wish sam the best and he will end up being with penske next yr